Runaway Devaluation

Runaway Devaluation

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"I asked you back because three days ago I sat right here, and I watched you put your testes on this reclaimed Brazilian Koa wood table, and now you're going to sit there and you're going to watch me do the same goddamn thing to you."

―A venture capitalist to Erlich and Richard

Runaway Devaluation is the second episode in Season 2 of the HBO series Silicon Valley, and the tenth episode overall. It originally aired on April 19, 2015.

Contents

Synopsis

In the wake of Hooli’s bombshell, Richard and the guys struggle to find a backer as they face legal and financial woes. Monica attempts to balance her interest in Pied Piper with her job. A cash-strapped Dinesh tries to put an end to the Kickstarter campaign for his cousin’s new app, Bro. Richard gets a surprising offer.

Plot

After learning of Hooli's lawsuit, Laurie Bream decides that Pied Piper is too big of a risk and decides to drop the company from Raviga Capital's portfolio. Bachman and Hendricks meet with the other venture capitalists and are informed that due to the lawsuit, along with their behavior at the previous meetings, they are no longer interested in Pied Piper.

Meanwhile, Dinesh meets with his cousin Wajeed who is crowdfunding an app called Bro, which is similar to Yo but instead sends the word "bro". After hosting a crowdfunding party and a $500 donation from Gilfoyle meant to irritate Dinesh, Wajeed meets his goal of $50,000. Jared finds a venture capitalist on the Bro app, but when they meet it turns out to be a "brain rape" scam to steal the algorithm, causing Bachman and Jared to quickly end the presentation. With no options left but to hire a "cheap" lawyer for $2.5 million, Gavin Belson calls Hendricks and asks to meet him privately. At a bar, Belson proposes Hooli acquiring Pied Piper and bringing Hendricks back into the Hooli team. Belson says that on the path he is on right now, Hendricks is forming the exact type of "soulless" corporation he despises. As Hendricks begins to respond, a mariachi band interrupts them, and the episode ends.

Memorable Quotes

Laurie: Dress unattractively when you tell them. I read a study. The less sexual interest they feel for you, the less perturbing it will be. It sounds strange, but it's credible. May I suggest the beige ensemble in which you came to work Tuesday?

Erlich: Call Coleman Blair. Tell them Santa Claus is coming early this year, and he's bringing a big bag of Pied Piper.

VC: You know term sheets aren't legally binding documents, right?Erlich: Of course not. They're just guidelines that people follow, unless, of course, they're pussies.VC: You came in here three days ago. You were arrogant, condescending, and offensive. Now you come in here, you call me a pussy.Erlich: Whoa, whoa, I did not call you a pussy. I said that people who break term-sheet agreements are pussies, and that hasn't happened yet. Thus I haven't called you a pussy yet. You're in control of the situation.

Jared: I've never felt like I was anyone's bro before. The only people who have used that term with me were assailants, but, um, I started bro'ing people and getting bro'ed back.

Jared: Well, get some sleep, my bros. I'll set the meeting, and, um, then I'll go find some hoes to prioritize behind you.Erlich: Are you trying to say "Bros before hoes"?Jared: It's sexist, but it's about friendship.

Jared: It's like when somebody says they want to go birding with you, but really they just want to get you alone in the woods, so they can take your binoculars.

Dinesh: I was always like the cool cousin of the family, you know what I mean?Gilfoyle: Wait, did you just say you were the cool cousin?Dinesh: Yeah.Gilfoyle: Please explain.Dinesh: Well, when we were kids, I was the one getting good grades, I was the one who was planning for my future, I would bring gifts for my teachers cause they worked so hard, you know, cool stuff. He was getting in trouble, he got caught smoking opium in the toolshed, he crashed my uncle's motorbike.Gilfoyle: And you think you're the cool one?Dinesh: Yeah, it's different in Pakistan.Gilfoyle: I've never been but I know it isn't.

Wajeed:[Talking about "Bro"] The app that proves you can change the world in just one word!Dinesh: Actually it's just half a word.Hipster girl: I know. It's so efficient.Wajeed: Now as you can see, we're just 5000 away from out goal but we got a whole hour left people, so lets get those bronations going!Dinesh: Donations are funny, right? I mean, why would anybody donate to something like "Bro" and not a homeless shelter, or schools... Cancer! That's still out there. Any of us could have it. Food for thought, which a lot of people also don't have. Have a great party guys.[Now talking to different groups of people separately]Dinesh: You can donate if you want but he's throwing away half the world's market. You know what "bro" means in Mandarin? It means "asshole". You know what "bro" means in Portuguese? Rapist. In Latvian, it roughly translates to "One who beheads the Messiah". In Finnish, "bro" means "A baby's erection". In Urdu, "bro" is actually short for "brochtauer" which means "A dildo for a man". A man's dildo. Fecal eclipse, loses something in translation, we don't have a word for it. They do - It's "Bro". You know what "bro" means in Navajo? A really joyful person with mental disabilities.

Notes

This is the only episode in which the end credits play over a live action scene.